Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) was 5.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Current health expenditure in Saudi Arabia, 2000–2023
Source: Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Saudi Arabia recorded 5.7% for current health expenditure in 2023.
That represents a change of up 7.0% on the previous year and up 28.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current health expenditure in Saudi Arabia peaked at 6.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2008.
That places Saudi Arabia 113th out of 193 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Current health expenditure (% of GDP) (Global Health) in Saudi Arabia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.2% | — |
| 2001 | 4.5% | +5.9% |
| 2002 | 4.2% | -4.8% |
| 2003 | 4.0% | -6.4% |
| 2004 | 3.6% | -9.9% |
| 2005 | 3.4% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 3.6% | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 3.6% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -16.6% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | +44.4% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -15.0% |
| 2011 | 3.7% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 4.0% | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 4.4% | +10.9% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +16.6% |
| 2015 | 5.9% | +13.6% |
| 2016 | 6.2% | +6.5% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -11.5% |
| 2019 | 5.5% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | +21.6% |
| 2021 | 5.9% | -10.8% |
| 2022 | 5.3% | -10.4% |
| 2023 | 5.7% | +7.0% |
Saudi Arabia compared with similar countries
- Saudi Arabia's 5.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.0%, 71% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Saudi Arabia's 5.7% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.6%, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.8% | 3.0% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 3.6% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Saudi Arabia
More health data for Saudi Arabia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8373 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3736 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 829 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 5.31 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0384 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 5.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0401 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current health expenditure in Saudi Arabia?
- Current health expenditure in Saudi Arabia was 5.7% in 2023, according to Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest current health expenditure recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest current health expenditure recorded in Saudi Arabia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2008.
- How does Saudi Arabia rank for current health expenditure?
- Saudi Arabia ranks 113th out of 193 countries with data for 2023.
- Is current health expenditure rising or falling in Saudi Arabia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Saudi Arabia data come from?
- The figures come from Global Health Expenditure Database, updated December 12th, 2025, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of Current health expenditure (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Level of current health expenditure expressed as a percentage of GDP. Estimates of current health expenditures include healthcare goods and services consumed during each year. This indicator does not include capital health expenditures such as buildings, machinery, IT and stocks of vaccines for emergency or outbreaks.